FNWF and Retreat Results

Another weekend bites the dust!  Another beautiful Fall weekend.

I left work at about noon on Friday, and took a lovely drive in the country to the Retreat site.  Fall has finally reached the low lands, and the colors were awesome.

Look what I found in this tree:

Oh wait, that’s the results of my Friday day/night sewing!  My first ever Little Red Schoolhouses.  And what better time of year to build them. 

I finished this top late Friday night, and started thinking about my next project.   I won 7 pieced blocks from Pat at 501 Quilt Blocks several months ago, and they’ve finally become a quilt.

This required not one but two visits to the nearby quilt store, which is actually one half of a General Store in Amish country.

It’s not a fancy shop, but they have some great prices on fabric.

Meanwhile, back at the retreat, there was much sewing, much eating, much talking, and more than a little laughing.  We have to take a short walk to the dining hall, so we had time to absorb some beautiful scenery.

I did get started on a third quilt this morning, but I didn’t get very far.  I’m working my way through the pile!  I tried to start on another very small project, but I decided I didn’t even like it any more, so I donated it to the chairperson of the raffle committee.  One more off the list! 

Off to catch up on some blog reading now.  Did I miss anything excited over the weekend?

Always be Kind……..Sunny

Weekend Wrap-up

This lovely postcard arrived in my mailbox on Friday, and it was accompanied by a matching mug rug.  What a bonus!  This was made by Pauline, and was from a postcard exchange arranged by Sheila. 

Thanks Pauline, I really love them! 

I’ve been busy this week, but I don’t have much to show or it.  I’m working on a secret project during my lunch hour, and I spent some time working on a baby blanket.  A co-worker and her friend bought kits of fleece to make no-sew baby blankets that are just fringed and tied.  But they decided they wanted something different, so I was called in.  I said “Sure, I can make something for you”.  How stupid was I?  I’ve never worked with that type of fabric, and it was a nightmare.  This stuff stretches and moves and stretches some more.  Per their request, I appliqued the baby’s name on the first blanket, and then was told that I was given the wrong spelling.  One of the pieces had been pinned to two layers of batting when I received it.  I finally got one sewed together, and tied with yarn, and I declined to attempt the second one.  I’m not usually a quitter, but this little experiment was impossible. 

Tonight, I cut out one quilt, and started cutting another.  I’m going to a retreat next week, and I want to get a lot of sewing done.  I’ve never cut in advance before, so this will be something new. 

Fall really is here, and we put our kayaks in storage yesterday.  A sad day indeed.  One of the nice things about fall, is that I get to see some beautiful sunrises on my way to work each morning.

Now if I could just find a decent place to take a picture!  The light changes so quickly.

Instead of taking a daytrip yesterday, we stayed close to home and ran some errands.  I finally got to visit our brand new library, we put the kayaks in storage, and we stocked up on apples, squash, and pumpkins.

Then we took a very short hike to a nearby waterfall, experiencing more of my favorite things of fall – walking through crunchy leaves.  And fall has a special smell, with the leaves, wood smoke from nearby cabins, the apples. . .   It won’t be long until the smells of holiday treats will be in the air, too!  Less than two months until Christmas…..

Be kind to Everyone!  Santa is making his list..Sunny

Supporting my National Parks!

Another beautiful Fall weekend comes to a close.  After a brief debate over where to go, we decided to brave the crowds and visit a nearby National Park! 

 

 

 

 

Shenandoah National Park is home to Skyline Drive, and is an absolutely beautiful scenic drive.  October is traditionally their busiest month of the year, and thanks to our sad lack of government, the parks had been closed the past two weekends.  We knew it would be mobbed, but decided to go anyway.

Sorry to bore you with so many pictures, but it was just so beautiful!

We even saw some wildlife.

 

It’s a Bear!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of today (Sunday) was spent sewing, but I don’t have anything to show.  I prepped a project for applique, and another for some red work embroidery.  I can’t even show my Christmas QAL finished quilt, because I’m supposed to save it for the big reveal in December.

And now that it’s fall, and the temperatures are getting cooler, it’s soup weather, so I made a big pot of soup for dinner tomorrow night.  Since DH retired last year, he has been the head chef, and I decided to be a good little wife and give him a night off.

Be kind to DH…..Sunny

Fall has arrived

Last weekend, while my hometown and surrounding area was buried under 30 – 40 inches of snow, DH and I were kayaking in shorts and tank tops.  We went to a distant lake in the ‘mountains’ and we were able to find some signs of fall.

At the beginning of our paddle, we shared the lake with only two other kayaks.  It was so incredibly peaceful and quiet.

Later, a group of young men came out in a couple of canoes.  I think they were on a group trip from the city, and had never been in canoes before.  The seemed to be having a very good time, but were extremely noisy, so we just turned and went to the other end of the lake.  It was big enough for all of us.

During the past week, we’ve had over 6 inches of rain.  Here is the sky the night before it started.

After all the rain on Thursday and Friday, we decided to take a chance on a road trip for Saturday.  The day started out cloudy and drizzly,

Then the sun came out for awhile!

We had to take a short hike to reach our real destination for the day.  We had seen a picture of this site in an advertisement for West Virginia, and made it our mission to find it!

 

 

 

 

After leaving this park, we went to another area, but we ran into heavy fog, and had to call it quits.  Here we are just driving into the fog.  Before long, we couldn’t see anything!

Every parking lot near the hiking trail heads was full!

Driving back down the mountain, we saw a few more pretty scenes, and then we started for home.

 

 

 

 

Sunday was sewing day!  I finished the secret project.  what do you think?

Must go now…Be kinder than necessary…..Sunny

Christmas QAL–October

I don’t have much time to post, because I am busy sewing.  But I missed August (beach trip) and September (Alaska), so I made sure I’d be home today.

Of course, the main project that I plan to complete today is my Challenge quilt.  Quilt Sue issued a challenge for the QAL, and I have to agree that it was certainly a challenge!  If we accept the challenge, we are to make a Christmas quilt (easy enough) without using RED or GREEN (HUH!?!).  Well we all put on our thinking caps, and there are some very nice quilts out there!  Jolly Jo is our hostess this month, and Happy Hazel will be back with us next month.

I’ve been struggling with the final design element for this, and while walking through my office the other day, I saw something on a coworkers wall that I instantly knew was the perfect solution!  What do you think?

Check back later to see what happens next.

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of months ago, I sorted through my scraps and made a pile of HST’s. and I finally got back to them and put them together. 

Due to my inability to read/interpret/follow instructions, it is not the right size, so I’m presented with the opportunity to redesign.  Because I am NOT taking it apart, or remaking all those HST’s!

I’m also working on a secret project.

And now I must get back to stitching!  I’ll be back later.

Kindness matters…….Sunny